Cripple Buddies
by ikcuts
Summary: Haru starts a fire. Somehow that's a good thing.


The last thing Haru remembered was a single flame on his stove.

Now, he was laying on the floor, with his leg caught in the ashy debris that had fallen from above him. What had caused this, Haru immediately knew; a fire. Hazily, he could make out the strong, flickering orange of the flames. He could hear the deafening crackling right next to his ears. Everything his little apartment once was was now becoming enveloped and devoured by the orange monster. Haru's realization washed over him like waves from an ocean. He might die. He might die from _fire_. No, he _will_ die.

_I will die._

Haru was too hazy to panic. If it had been any other sudden-death situation, he would be screaming. Instead, the lack of oxygen was affecting his lungs and he was near to passing out. His legs completely crushed under the weight, he knew he couldn't just walk out on this and survive. So he lay there, completely helpless, waiting for death.

Before he welcomed the feeling of death, however, a man in black and green -a firefighter- was hovering over him. Everything hurt when he moved the debris off of his legs, he almost wanted the man to leave him there and die without pain. But, as soon as the pain came, it went. Haru was taken off his feet and the man held him like a delicate new-born baby.

"It's alright!" The man had to yell over the noise, "you're safe now, sir!" He put -Haru recognized- an oxygen mask over his mouth and nose. Almost automatically, he felt the haziness start to go away. However, he was on the brink of passing out, so he was not fully revived from the feeling yet. He closed his eyes, feeling safer than he did before. He wasn't waiting for death anymore, now he was depending on this firefighter. All he had to do now was hold onto him and wait. Wait for whatever happened next.

Meanwhile, the firefighter -whose name was Makoto- felt the sense of urgency and adrenaline rush through him like lava running through the veins and cracks of the side of a volcano. This wasn't his first time rescuing someone, no, he has done this many times. Yet, every time for him, it felt new. Only one thing ever felt familiar to him in a rescue: the fire. Everything else was different; the person he was rescuing, the layout of the house or apartment or building, the debris and how much damage the fire had inflicted on the place, and so on. To Makoto, this was the worst one yet. Nearly every part of the floor was taken out, he had to be nimble in his steps. There was no source of natural light; no sight of the sun. The fire had nearly destroyed this apartment. Makoto felt, for the first time in his career, that he was trapped. But, Makoto would never give up, that was -what he thought to be- the motto of every firefighter.

Haru recognized that the man wasn't moving. He was confused, does he not know where to go? The building was near collapsing, he understood that, but he was the one who lived here. He knew exactly where to go, so he pointed in an area that was destroyed by the fire, but would hold its ground; hence being made out of stone. Haru knew this, and the man did not. It was a given that he would not know where to go if everything looked as if it would collapse under their weight, so he understood that he would not know this.

Makoto saw the man point in a certain direction. Since he had no knowledge of the layout, Makoto would trust that he was pointing in an area that would support them. "Okay, I'll go there. But please, keep to yourself, I can't allow you to be burned any more than you already are." Makoto then ran to the area, realizing once that he stepped onto it, it held their weight greatly. He knew where to go from there, the fire escape stairs. How perfect! He stepped onto them but he was not yet away from the flames. He then ran down the stairs as quickly as his heavy feet could carry him. Finally, the victim and Makoto were away from the hell.

Makoto let him into the ambulance. He took his own mask off, but left the victim's oxygen mask on, knowing he couldn't yet take it off until he was fully oxygenated. "Sir!" He yelled to his boss who was helping put out the fire with the giant hose, "are there any more victims, sir?!"

He responded, "no, the owner tells me everyone has been evacuated! That man is the accidental cause right there, that's why -augh!" The hose almost slipped from his grasp, "that's why he's the main victim; couldn't get away from the source in time!"

"Thank you, sir!" Haru heard the firefighter say. He was definitely less hazy now, the oxygen mask helping him to breathe. "Sir, may I ask your name?"

"Ha-" He coughed, "Haru."

"Nice to meet you, Haru, I'm Makoto." He smiled. "We'll help you once we get this ambulance going…" As if on cue, it started. "Ah, there we go." The ambulance's doors closed and it started towards the hospital.

On the way there, Makoto took off his shirt and firefighter jacket. Haru noticed his toned form under the slits of his heavy eyelids… Was he rubbing his arm?

Haru arrived at the hospital passed out and awoke to the pleasure of consistent, healthy breathing and a doctor.

"The worst is over, Mr. Nanase. Your burns have been treated," the doctor said to him. "Also, both your fibulas and tibias are broken. It might be a while until you can walk again."

Haru found herself asking something he probably shouldn't, "what about Makoto?"

The doctor tilted his head to one side, "Mr. Tachibana; the firefighter in the ambulance? He's in the room next to yours with a broken arm and multiple bruises."

"What? Is he alright? How did that happen?"

"He told us that before he found you, debris fell on him too. A large stone hit the side of his right humerus, causing it to break. The bruises came from the rest of the debris."

Haru wondered and marveled how Makoto carried him.

That night, he wondered really how Makoto was doing. Why was he so worried?

The next morning, he awoke to a shirtless Makoto with a cast on his right arm and bandages on nearly every part of his body.

"Hello, Haru! How are you doing, hm? Looking well," his smile was brighter than the sun.

"Makoto…" In truth, Makoto looked bashed. From the way he looked, he should still be in his hospital bed. "How-"

"Debris. The doctor told you, right? I'm just glad you're okay. I bought you flowers. Bought not brought; not with this arm," he motioned his head towards the flowers on the nightstand then at his arm. "I was more worried about you than any other victims, because, well, you're injured. Not just burned, most victims just get burned and burns are easy to treat. Both your legs are broken. I'm worried for you," his melancholy face immediately making Haru pity him.

"But you're injured, too. Aren't you okay?"

"I'm perfectly fine. Hey, we can be cripple buddies," Makoto laughed. Haru noticed that Makoto was his age, if not, a couple years older. He was also extremely attractive, not everyday you see a young, handsome firefighter. "So, we can stay together until we heal, okay?" Makoto held Haru's left hand with his own.

Months later, Haru marveled his suit in the mirror. As well as his burn scars to remind him of the day he met his soon-to-be husband.


End file.
